Not The Girl Dreams Are Made Of
by sunrise over boston
Summary: James Potter assumes his dream girl live between the pages of a muggle magizine. Maybe he's wrong.


**Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling owns them, I'm just playing around in her universe.

* * *

Lily Evans was very far from James Potter's idea of a dream girl. In fact, his personal dream girl was the smiley blond from the skin mag Remus had 'confiscated' using his status as a prefect. She had legs that didn't seem to end and large, perky breasts.

She had been pouting, her lips painted red to go with her smoky looking eyes. It had been a Muggle magazine, so she didn't move, but it listed her favorite things as soccer, rock music, and smoking her preferred brand of cigarettes.

Lily was short and had bright red hair. She had a decent sized bust, but nothing impressive. ("James," Sirius would groan, "Breasts are breasts are breasts, they're _all _impressive!") Lily saw no need to wear make-up and if she even acknowledged James' existence it was either to insult him or ask for him to pass her something at dinner.

Lily hated James' guts, he knew this, but he'd still ruffle his hair and grin when she was around. Lily would flip him the bird and call him a stalker. This usually sent his friends into hysterics.

Still, by the middle of fifth year James had convinced himself he was in love with Lily. Before Hogsmeade weekends, he'd ask her to head to The Three Broomsticks with him, using his most charming voice. She would roll her eyes and say she was busy. When he'd see her at a table, splitting butterbeers with _Snape_, of all people, his friends would distract him and keep him from causing a scene. Well, most of the time anyway.

Finally, seventh year rolled around and James got his Head Boy badge. ("Remus, mate, this should be yours. I'm crap at being responsible." "Prongs, you saved Severus' life. If that's not something that automatically earns you Head Boy, I don't know what will.")

On September first, Remus and James told the other two marauders to save them seats and left for the Prefect's Carriage for the annual Hogwarts Express meeting. When they got there, Lily hugged a blushing Remus. They'd become friends during the times they had to patrol the halls together. James, who did not know this, glowered from the doorway.

"Good to see you Remus!" Lily grinned, "Did you have a nice holiday?"

"Yeah, I hung out with the guys mostly," Remus shrugged, "You?"

"I went to my older sister's wedding, which was a drag. Mum let me bring Alice though, so I guess it wasn't that bad," Suddenly, Lily grinned again, "Oh yeah, I made Head Girl!"

"Lil, That's great!" Remus cried.

She nodded, "Did you make Head Boy?"

"Nah," Remus said, "Dumbledore wouldn't pick me, I can't keep the guys under control."

"I'm sorry Remus," She looked like she meant it, "Do you know who did make it though? Oh god, I hope it's not Ackley from Slytherin."

"Actually," James said, finally stepping forward, "I'm this years' Head Boy, _Lil_."

Remus winced at the glare James shot him and mouthed 'sorry'. Lily stood there with her mouth wide open, "You? But you're a complete idiot!"

"Careful there, Evans," Called one of Hufflepuffs, "Sweet talk Potter like that and people will start to think you're lovers or something."

"Oh, shut up, Dylan!" Lily yelled, her face bright red, and then turned back to James, "Are you serious, Potter? You made Head Boy?"

"Yeah, and the way I see it if we want to be able to work together properly, we have to at least pretend to be civil to each other," James held out his hand, "So what do you say, Evans? I stop badgering you about dates and you stop being malicious?"

Lily thought about it for a moment and then, warily, shook his hand. "This doesn't mean I like you or anything," She said, watching James suspiciously.

James smiled, bitterly, "Wouldn't want it any other way."

They started the meeting soon after that. When it was over, James left with a word. Remus lingered for a few seconds, to gather his notes, and then ran after his friend. Lily watched both of them go, a particular feeling in her chest, one she really couldn't label. She quickly forgot about that though, when a fifth-year prefect asked her about the schedule for train patrol.

Back in the marauder's cabin, Remus begged for forgiveness. James only snorted and said it didn't matter anyway. That was the last the spoke of the matter. By Christmas, it had almost been forgotten. Another thing that happened around the holidays was Lily actually talking to James without him having to start the conversation.

Lily and James were walking back from a Prefect meeting together and talking when they both froze in their places. James looked up and groaned. A piece of mistletoe hung above their heads, charmed so if two people walked under it and refused to kiss, they'd be stuck in place.

"Suddenly, charming the decorations seem like a stupid idea," James said sheepishly as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Nah," Lily replied and then kissed James on the cheek.

They both stayed very still for a moment as the charm lifted. Lily then walked off and the young man followed closely behind. They did not talk after that. However, James, feeling extremely light-headed, touched the spot where Lily had kissed him. He just knew a stupid grin was spreading across his face.

Slowly, winter thawed into spring. Trips to Hogsmeade became more fun, since you could go from shop to shop without having to face bitter winds and heavy snowfall. As one of those trips approached, James noticed that Lily was hanging around the marauders more than usual. After some time, Peter noticed this too.

"Prongs," Peter whispered during Defense one day, "I reckon Evans wants you to ask her to Hogsmeade."

James rolled his eyes, "She's just being friendly. 'Sides, we have an agreement. No date requests means she'll actually be nice."

"I dunno. She's giving off this vibe."

"Lay off the butterbeer, Wormtail. Honestly, _vibes_…"

As it turned out, Peter was right. Two days before the scheduled trip, Lily asked James if he wanted to spend the day with her when in the village. James cautiously agreed, not willing to destroy the friendship they'd built up over the past few months. Still, the visit was nice enough, in James' opinion, even if the lack of marauderly mischief was a bit dull.

"Er, James?" Lily said they stood in Honeyduke's.

James looked at her curiously, "Yes?"

"I-think-I-may-have-been-wrong-about-you."

The young redhead looked down at her shoes bashfully. They were waiting in queue to pay and things were going slowly. Over the roar of anxious Hogwarts students, Lily was hard to hear. It was doubly so, since she had strung the sentence together as if it was one word. The line lurched forward and James said, "I didn't catch that, sorry."

Lily took a very deep breath and then repeated, "I think I may have been wrong about you."

James' eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open. The queue kept moving forward, but they both stayed rooted to the spot. A couple of Ravenclaws went around them, but neither seemed to notice. Lily, who was now a bright red, kept talking in a breathy voice.

"I thought you were just some creepy git, right? But then you got Head Boy and we made that agreement. I didn't think you'd last a week on it," She paused to look up at James, "But you did! I mean, even after I kissed you in the hall, you didn't do anything! So, I figure I should just tell you how I feel."

James eyes widened, "And how do you feel?"

Lily hesitated, "That's just it! I don't hate you anymore! I think I might actually like you!"

Both James and Lily looked very flustered by the end of this sentence. Still, the dark-haired young man paused to think about it for a moment, before he ran a hand through his hair nervously. Lily looked the very image of a doe caught in the headlights as James grinned at her.

"Listen," He said, "I know we have a deal and all, but would you mind terribly if I kissed you?"

Lily blinked, "Not at all."

So, still grinning, James kissed Lily full on the mouth. A few Gryffindors who knew them cheered as the two broke apart, but James and Lily didn't notice. They were too busy grinning at each other to notice anything at all. Abandoning the sweets, they both hurried out the door and towards The Three Broomsticks, Lily claiming that James had promised her a butterbeer.

Lily Evans was not James' dream girl. However, that suited him just fine. He'd rather have a real girl, with bright red hair and a brighter smile than the long-legged picture of Ms. February any day.


End file.
